Women's Hoops Blog

Inane commentary on a game that deserves far better


Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Both teams had starters out of the game and playing in pain with injuries. Both teams hit big shots and had four players in double figures. The score was tied 13 times during the game and the lead changed 13 times. But in the end, the Storm managed to outscore the Mercury down the stretch and won 91-85.

Sue Bird had her best offensive game of the season, scoring a season high 25 points including half of her team's 10 three pointers. "I remember the last time we played them, I didn't really shoot the ball well from the outside. I was thinking about that a lot, and I knew I was going to get the looks and I just wanted to knock down shots."

Perhaps most important for the Storm is the fact that they pulled ahead for good in the fourth when both Bird and Lauren Jackson were on the bench. Shots by Tanisha Wright and Barb Turner were part of a big 13-2 run for Seattle.

Besides losing a critical game as they fight for a playoff spot, the Mercury may have lost Penny Taylor too. Taylor had scored 22 points in the game before going down awkwardly in the 4th quarter and apparently sprained her shin. “What I am hearing is they are not sure of the results,” Mercury coach Paul Westhead said of Taylor’s X-rays. “The initial read was it’s not a fracture.”